Major Tom

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is an online open world, action shooter RPG experience set in a collapsing and fractured Washington, D.C. This rich new setting combines a wide variety of beautiful, iconic, and realistic environments where the player will experience the series’ trademark for authenticity in world-building, rich RPG systems, and fast-paced action like never before. Play solo or co-op with a team of up to four players to complete a wide range of activities, from the main campaign and adversarial PvP matches to the Dark Zone -- where anything can happen.

Gemma

In Ubisoft’s earnings report for the full fiscal year, the publisher revealed a few early details about its release schedule for fiscal year 2019. The Division 2 was one of the three games the company expects to ship between now and the end of March 2019.

The other two being The Crew 2, and an unannounced AAA title. This essentially means The Division 2 will either release later this year, or early next year.

But that’s not all, during a post-earnings call with investors, Ubisoft shared some details about its plans for The Division 2. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said that the various development teams are working to have more content available for players on day one than the first game.

Post-launch, new content will be added quickly and in larger quantities to keep players satisfied. “We were surprised a little bit by how fast people consumed content on [The Division 1],” Guillemot said.

Another part the call touched on was end-game content in The Division 2. Ubisoft is aware that the original’s game’s end-game was lacklustre, and it’s planning to have a more engaging end-game for players in the sequel.

“Very clearly what we call the end-game part was something that [The Division 1] could have improved, and we believe that we’ve got it now [in The Division 2],” Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez revealed.

Martinez also reiterated Massive’s original message at the announcement of The Division 2, in that the studio is using the all data and learning it gained throughout the development and constant refinement of the first game to make The Division 2 a better game out of the gate.

The Division 2’s full reveal will take place at Ubisoft’s E3 2018 press briefing on June 11.

Major Tom

Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is certainly one of the biggest games Ubisoft is set to showcase at E3 2018 during their own conference.

We don't really know a lot about this sequel so far, other than its launch date (by March 2019) and the promises from Massive that it will feature lots of content and more endgame than its predecessor did when it launched.

However, the above poster from the E3 2018 venue (and first shared by Twitter user Manning13) provides a wealth of information ahead of the official reveal. For instance, the setting seems to be Washington D.C. with the Capitol Building visible on the horizon. Of course, it's too early to say whether The Division 2 will only be set in Washington D.C. as opposed to New York, but it appears to be likely.

In the image we can also see three player characters, suggesting that the base group size might remain limited to three (instead of the traditional four). More interestingly, though, the player character on the left clearly sports a crossbow while the one visible right in the middle carries a grenade launcher. These could be special weapons and new additions for this sequel, providing increased gameplay variety and allowing different play styles.

We'll get a lot more information about The Division 2 tomorrow when Ubisoft Massive will officially pull the lid off this sequel.

Major Tom

Tom Clancy's The Division 2 has had its gameplay reveal at the Xbox E3 2018 press conference and things look very different this time around.

First up, The Division 2 is set in Washington, and the snow has entirely gone. Starting in an overgrown park, and leading through into a decidedly ‘nature reclaimed’ airfield - The Division 2 looks to be going big on wide, open environments and a lot of architectural diversity - the demo reveals a distinctly apocalyptic, Last of Us style vibe to its world. Gameplay-wise, expect tactical, three-player, co-op cover shooting with a variety of strategic options, from crossbows to chemical cloud launchers. It all looks very tight.

Dive into The Division 2's transformed Washington D.C. and free its streets from vicious enemy...

In terms of how all of this fits in with the first game's frosty, New York scenario, The Division 2 seems to be set further along in the timeline, at a point when the 'remnants of a corrupt state’ are rising to plunge the already chaotic US into full-blown civil war.

Major Tom

Let's takes a closer look at The Division 2’s mod system to find out what’s changed from the original.

The Division 2 won’t be out until next year, but there’s still tons of interest in how Ubisoft will mix up its formula. These changes extend all the way to weapon mods, thanks to a new system that offers the same benefits but wildly different implementation.

The video below shows a breakdown of the mod system, and highlighted several key details. Most importantly – mods are no longer available as random drops from enemy kills. Instead, players unlock mods by completing objectives in the game. While Ubisoft doesn’t have a full list of conditions, likely examples include story progression, side quests, and unique in-game challenges.

What’s more, once you’ve unlocked a mod, it’s available forever across all weapons. Players won’t have to manage a limited inventory list, deciding which mods are worth keeping.

Mods have changed in The Division 2; here's everything you need to know about the new system. If...

The Division 2 will feature fewer mods than the original game, prompting players to try layout that emphasize specific playstyles over grinding for the “best” items and ignoring the others. Moving forward, all mods will have positive and negative stats as a trade-off.

Major Tom

It sounds like you'll be able to play pretty much all of The Division 2 on your lonesome.

Speaking to AusGamers, game director Mathias Karlson had the following to say regarding those looking to play the Washington-set MMO solo:

“You can play through the entire story campaign into endgame and [then the] endgame [content], alone... [But] you can also do the same content [in] two, three, or four player co-op. Or eight-player co-op, two full groups in the raid if you opt into the challenge that we're adding. So it's very important for us that you get to pick.”

According to Guillemot, The Division 2 was the fastest-registering beta in Ubisoft history, with over four times the registrants of the original game in 2015, which was the previous record-holder. This statistic is huge considering the fact that The Division 2 beta only went live a month ago after the game reveal at E3 in June. Of course, signing up for the beta does not guarantee beta access, but it is a relatively good indication of player interest in the game.

Furthermore, Ubisoft has not confirmed specifically how invites to the beta will work, but signing up is a free and easy process, so fans wanting to get early access to the game can take advantage of it.

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Major Tom

Ubisoft is preparing to launch The Division 2, even as the original The Division still enjoys a relatively active player base thanks to a steady stream of content updates and quality-of-life tweaks. To tempt players back, and perhaps to ease the transition into the sequel, the company is offering some free goodies, as well as limited-time access to older expansions.

Shields are special commendations that are granted for fulfilling specific mission objections. Every Shield you unlock will grant you rewards in The Division, including 2,000 Phoenix Credits, three Cypher keys, one exotic weapon, a patch with the Shield icon, and more. But it also grants you a tiered rank that will transfer to The Division 2. As detailed on the official blog, the higher the tier, the more rewards you'll get:

Tier 1 - Weapon Skin

Tier 2 - Outfit and Patch

Tier 3 - Emote and Gear Dye

Tier 4 - Taunting Emote and Backpack Trophy

Every month, the Division is adding a new Shield, and another one just became available. It's called the Sacred Shield, and since it's tied to the Underground expansion, Ubisoft is making that expansion free for a limited time. You can play it gratis until next Wednesday, July 25.

The Sacred Shield is granted for completing 10 phases, getting to level 10, and killing 10 Hunters in the Underground. It joins Shepherd, Avenger, Deadeye, and Hazard as the Shields that are obtainable so far. Getting all of the Shields, and keeping up with new ones as they come out, will get you the best head-start when The Division 2 is released next year.